Creating home, arts, & service: Meet Katie Trzaska-Miller

I joined the Midland Area Community Foundation in June 2024 as the Executive Assistant, transitioning from a career in arts administration into the world of philanthropy. While this was a change, it felt like a return to my roots. I was involved in the Youth Advisory Council (YAC) at the Muskegon Area Community Foundation in high school. I spent four years with YAC, including two years as Chair and liaison to the Board of Trustees for the Community Foundation. During college, I also interned with the Council of Michigan Foundations, which further deepened my understanding of community engagement.

I grew up in Western Massachusetts and moved to West Michigan when I was 11. I spent my middle and high school years in Muskegon, and I was incredibly fortunate to grow up in such a culture-rich environment. The arts and culture scene, combined with the natural beauty of Michigan, made it a wonderful place to live. I was actively involved in theater, taking classes at Muskegon Civic Theatre and performing in musicals from a young age, which set me on a path toward arts administration.

Through my work with YAC, I began understanding the broader issues affecting my community, such as socioeconomic disparities and housing inequities. Even as a teenager, I was exposed to the challenges others faced and learned about the people and organizations striving to make a difference. Watching Muskegon change and grow over the past 20-25 years has been fascinating. These experiences influenced my understanding of the vital role community foundations play in supporting and enhancing the places we live.

When I moved to Midland, I was struck by the potential for growth and the exciting community projects supported by the Midland Area Community Foundation. Projects like Public Arts Midland and the Cultural Awareness Coalition showcase the Foundation’s commitment to meeting community needs. The Foundation’s role as a backbone for these initiatives is unique, and they are more examples of how responsive and impactful the Community Foundation can be.

Before joining the Foundation, I spent six years as the Senior Manager of Community Engagement at the Midland Center for the Arts. My work involved collaborating closely with educators, developing the Center’s youth and family performing arts programming, including the School Matinee Series, and building community partnerships. In my spare time, I support community cultural initiatives like the Juneteenth Block Party and serve on the Midland County Inclusion Alliance board.

My education at St. Norbert College, where I studied political science, communications, and theater studies, initially set me toward public policy. However, my love for the arts eventually led me back to Muskegon, where I became the Executive Director of the Playhouse at White Lake at just 23 years old. Running a 100-year-old theater by myself taught me valuable lessons in leadership, resourcefulness, and community impact.

Today, as I continue my work with the Community Foundation, I’m excited about the collective impact we can achieve. Whether supporting local arts, enhancing public spaces, or driving economic development, I believe in the power of community foundations to make a lasting difference. It’s about more than just donating money—it’s about creating a more significant impact that benefits everyone in the community.

When I first moved to Midland, some friends questioned whether the town might be dull. But I saw the potential for growth, creativity, and positive change here. The redevelopment of Downtown, the summer concerts, and the ongoing diversity and inclusion efforts inspire me. As we continue to look outward and think regionally, I’m confident that Midland’s best days are ahead. Our foundational resources, like the Community Foundation, Chippewa Nature Center, and the Center for the Arts, can make a huge difference in people’s lives if we make them accessible and available to all. My family and I are proud to call Midland home.

In the end, the Community Foundation means directly supporting the community. It’s about making your dollars go further and creating a collective impact that’s greater than any one person could achieve alone. The Community Foundation is a great place to start if you want to make a meaningful difference.

I’ve also been co-hosting and producing a performing arts industry podcast called There’s No Business Like… for almost two years now, with four colleagues from across the county who have become some of my best friends. We were brought together serendipitously in the winter of 2022, discovered our common passion and values, and all had the same question… how do we support our industry in this moment of massive change? We landed on this wild idea of interviewing our colleagues for a weekly podcast, to capture the collective knowledge of the industry and pass it on to new colleagues, who were (and still are) drinking from a firehose.

We focus on the business of the business, but we have also found the deep value in exploring people’s careers and sharing their hard-earned wisdom and advice. We do it as a service to the field, to help our colleagues learn, connect, and not feel so alone in what can be hard and exhausting work. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would host a podcast, but it’s been one of the most fulfilling experiences of my career and I am so grateful for it.